Some macOS Mojave 10.14.4 users having problems with Gmail & G Suite authentication in App...

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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in General Discussion
While it does not appear to be affecting all users, a number of people are reporting being unable to access their G suite or Gmail accounts when using Apple's Mail app, since updating to macOS Mojave 10.14.4.

A typical error message from the Mojave 10.14.4 problem
A typical error message from the Mojave 10.14.4 problem


The issue appears to be an authentication issue with users being continually prompted for passwords which are then rejected. There is currently no one solution that fixes the issue for everyone, so for the moment, avoid updating to 10.14.4 if you use Gmail or any of the G Suite apps.

This macOS update was released on Monday. It introduced further Dark Mode features plus integration for the Apple News+ service.

User Ken Graham posted about it in an Apple Support thread which currently has 344 people noting that they have the same issue. "Just update[d] to Mojave 10.14.4 and now Apple Mail will not connect to one of my Gmail accounts," wrote Graham. "This issue is unique to Apple Mail as I can access the Gmail account using Spark on the same computer."

If you are affected by this issue, it manifests in one of two ways. The more benign manifestation is the "disconnected" symbol next to the account in Mail, which clears after a click -- but may pop up again. The more profound problem sees users get caught in a cycle of being prompted to re-authenticate the account.

"The issue puts me in an endless loop," says Graham. "I get a notification 'Google requires completing authentication in Safari.' This takes me to a Sign in dialog where I enter email account and password. Password is correct and accepted, after which I'm back in the loop again asking to enter Google Password."

The initial report of problems on Apple's Support Thread by user Ken Graham
The initial report of problems on Apple's Support Thread by user Ken Graham


While Graham's problem is specifically with Gmail via Apple Mail, others have reported similar issues with their G Suite accounts.

Apple has yet to comment publicly on the issue but some commenters on the support thread report having spoken with Apple and claim to have been talked through a fix. This allegedly involves removing your Gmail and then manually adding it back again as an IMAP account.

Since you appear able to access Gmail via other apps on the Mac and that iOS is unaffected, however, the best option is to wait for Apple to issue a fix. And in the meantime, not update to 10.14.4 if you haven't already.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 39
    ravnorodomravnorodom Posts: 715member
    Funny I got that "can't connect to Gmail" last night on my Apple Mail. I use POP configuration though, not IMAP. But anyhow I managed to make it work after I changed my password. Tweaking around with the settings didn't do anything.
    bonobob
  • Reply 2 of 39
    lipnorthlipnorth Posts: 15member
    I’m having this problem but only in some of my gmail accounts - and only with Mac mail. I also use Spark and that works fine. Guess I’ll just wait for a fix...
  • Reply 3 of 39
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Be careful about performing the standard voodoo rituals after something like this becomes known. You could wind up making things worse when a fix is released. 
  • Reply 4 of 39
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,822member
    My GMail showed it was disconnected after boot up but after clicking the 'not connected' symbol it connected and worked.
  • Reply 5 of 39
    larryjwlarryjw Posts: 1,036member
    I got the message to open safari, too. I did, entered my login and password. Gmail then asked if this was a trusted computer. I said yes. Done, fini. 
  • Reply 6 of 39
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,954member
    I'm always having some kind of issue with Gmail no matter what point release iOS is on. Very close to deleting.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 39
    osmartormenajrosmartormenajr Posts: 287member
    I have the definitive solution, that worked for me years ago, and remains fail proof to this day: stop using G services altogether!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 39
    looplessloopless Posts: 341member
    It seems to affect all Gsuite users.  The workarounds involve deleting the account from Mail and adding back in as a regular IMAP account. This requires using an app token to generate a unique password if you use TFA or allowing “insecure” apps to access your account. Of course you lose calendar and contact integrations.
    I’m sorry but this is sort of unbelievable that Apple let this happen.
    Sandals
  • Reply 9 of 39
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    What does Google do with its mail service that causes so much grief, particularly to macOS and iOS users? Do they not conform to accepted email protocols and do their own thing?
    macseekerwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 39
    eideardeideard Posts: 428member
    Don't even care to know what G-suite is; but, I do have 2-step authentication turned on. Got the password message - got a text msg code for authentication - that's all folks! It's working.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 39
    commentzillacommentzilla Posts: 768member
    No issues with my Gmail accounts. I only use IMAP. Maybe it's a POP issue.
  • Reply 12 of 39
    lipnorthlipnorth Posts: 15member
    It seems to only be effecting my G-suite account. Afraid to do delete workaround and d not want to change password as that will cause me to need to update all my devices and Im sure have a bunch of ripple effects. Ugh.
  • Reply 13 of 39
    heli0sheli0s Posts: 65member
    loopless said:
    It seems to affect all Gsuite users.  The workarounds involve deleting the account from Mail and adding back in as a regular IMAP account. This requires using an app token to generate a unique password if you use TFA or allowing “insecure” apps to access your account. Of course you lose calendar and contact integrations.
    I’m sorry but this is sort of unbelievable that Apple let this happen.
    The developer forums show they've know about this issue in the 10.14.4 betas......FOR TWO MONTHS. This is inexcusable, because it breaks people's work accounts. It's easy for some smart ass to say "Oh, don't use Google then!" My company uses G Suite as do many many many others. This is not my decision. If a bug of this magnitude is let slide, I wonder what the macOS team is doing.
    edited March 2019 gatorguycoolfactor
  • Reply 14 of 39
    rgeorgeo Posts: 3member
    G-Suite is the professional Gmail service for work accounts. I do not have this problem with my regular Gmail, personal account. But I do have the problem with my G-Suite work email.  Waiting for a fix. 
  • Reply 15 of 39
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,822member
    commentzilla said:
    No issues with my Gmail accounts. I only use IMAP. Maybe it's a POP issue.
    Does POP still exists?  Who knew.
    coolfactor
  • Reply 16 of 39
    photoeditorphotoeditor Posts: 244member
    eideard said:
    Don't even care to know what G-suite is; but, I do have 2-step authentication turned on. Got the password message - got a text msg code for authentication - that's all folks! It's working.
    An example of G-suite is when Google is the contracted software provider for email and G-apps for an enterprise, say a university or large corporation. I've been asked to authenticate each of my accounts, my G-suite and both my personal accounts, through Safari since the update.....though thankfully not more than once and let's hope it stays that way. For reference I already have two-factor authentication activated.
    gatorguy
  • Reply 17 of 39
    toysandmetoysandme Posts: 243member
    I have had nothing but trouble with Apple’s Mail clients on iOS and X for the past couple of months. Sent mail gets stuck in the out box. I use Yahoo accounts so the Yahoo’s app is fine on iOS and I can also use Safari. 
  • Reply 18 of 39
    mojo66mojo66 Posts: 20member
    eideard said:
    Don't even care to know what G-suite is; but, I do have 2-step authentication turned on. Got the password message - got a text msg code for authentication - that's all folks! It's working.
    Same here. 2FA, entered code, voila it was working again.
  • Reply 19 of 39
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,328member
    ravnorodom said:
    Funny I got that "can't connect to Gmail" last night on my Apple Mail. I use POP configuration though, not IMAP. But anyhow I managed to make it work after I changed my password. Tweaking around with the settings didn't do anything.
    Why why why do you use POP? Yikes! Does it do the trick for you?

    It's true that Apple Mail uses some specialized access method/protocol when adding an account using the "Google" method. IMAP can be left disabled in the account and access still works. This threw me for a loop when I was trying to add via IMAP and it wasn't working. You need to enable IMAP on the Gmail side when using IMAP on the client side.

    This issue is annoying and I don't want to switch to IMAP, but I will if Apple+Google can't fix this soon.

  • Reply 20 of 39
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,328member

    lkrupp said:
    What does Google do with its mail service that causes so much grief, particularly to macOS and iOS users? Do they not conform to accepted email protocols and do their own thing?

    Gmail is supported on macOS and iOS devices using three different options when adding an account:

    1. POP – don't use this! *
    2. IMAP – this is good
    3. Google – not sure what this uses, but it doesn't seem to be POP or IMAP... maybe it's a special mode of IMAP unique to Apple+Google setups? IMAP can be left disabled in the Gmail account and this option still works, which is bizarre to me.

    * Why not POP? It's pull-only and it doesn't support any server-side folders other than Inbox. It's old and limited.


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